Read In Honor for Free Online

Finn and Rusty combined, but it was fast. Finn had made sure of that.
    We pulled into the Comet II Drive-In, which looked like it had probably been around since the old Route 66 days. Though it was styled like an old-fashioned burger joint, it boasted “The Best Mexican Food in Town,” which was good enough for me. After I’d ordered half the menu, the girl at the pickup window seemed surprised to see only two of us in the car. I motioned at Rusty and fake whispered. “He’s hungover. Needs the grease.” She bent down so she could see in the car, and Rusty gave her a nod, sending a flush up her neck that bloomed in her cheeks.
    “Y’all have a good night. And good luck with that hangover.” She winked at Rusty, who smiled back, knowing exactly the effect he’d had on her. Gag. I pulled out of the drive-thru before he could say anything back, and plunged my hand into the grease-dotted bag of tortilla chips.
    He watched me, amused. “You never were one to eat ladylike.”
    I crunched a too-hot, perfectly salty chip in my mouth and glanced over. “I’ve been driving for half the day without anything to eat.” I swallowed and reached for my soda. “You were passed out, remember?” I took a long gulp before I said anything worse.
    Rusty reached in for a few chips. “Yeah, I know. I feel like crap.”
    I swallowed another mouthful of chips and looked around for a good spot. We were rolling slowly down the main street of the town, and I took in what I could in the dimming light. It was a modern little desert city with bits of fifties-era nostalgia all over the place. We passed the city hall, the Route 66 Auto Museum, and more than one Mexican cantina.
    Rusty motioned out the window with his head. “Sign says there’s a campground that way. We could pull into a spot to eat.”
    I made the turn, and we followed the carved wooden signs that eventually ended at an empty kiosk with sign-in instructions. Since we wouldn’t be staying the night, I didn’t bother with any of it, but I hoped there’d be an empty spot to rest in for a little while.
    Once I rounded the first turn, I realized we were gonna be lucky if we found one. The campground was full with the last of the summer’s campers spilling from one spot into the next. The unmistakable smell of campfire and barbecue drifted on the evening breeze, along with the sounds of laughter and kids running wild. I let the car coast down the camp road. Three boys, probably eight or so, zoomed by on their bikes, yelling after each other. Just before they ducked down a dirt path, one of them turned around and yelled, “Nice car!” I smiled. The whole place had that summer evening calm, the kind where no one’s worried about anything except enjoying it.
    Rusty pointed. “Looks empty over there.” I saw the spot he meant, and when I pulled up to it, he leaned out to check the wooden post. “Must be your lucky day.”
    “Yeah, right.” I pulled in and shut off the car, listening for a second to the bubbling of the radiator water mingle with the other sounds of the evening. Together, they gave off the feeling that everything was winding down for the night. I was, and I figured maybe it wouldn’t be so bad to stay after all. We could sleep in the Pala and leave first thing in the morning.
    Rusty was already out of the car stretching and, from the looks of it, feeling a little better. He grabbed our food and set it on the wooden picnic table, then sat next to it with his signature wide grin spread out across his face. “Sure as hell didn’t see myself ending up here today.”
    I pushed the door open with my shoulder and got out, arms and legs stretching almost like a reflex. “I didn’t see you ending up here either.” He nodded but didn’t say anything. I sat on the other side of the table and picked up a burrito. “You were kind of an ass earlier.”
    He put his elbows on his knees. “Yeah,” he said, nodding at the ground. “I was.”
    We were silent, which